Follow UP

The other day we spoke about Travel Teams etc---another aspect to consider is how many events they attend where you can visit college campuses, even if just to drive around see what campus looks like---this can be key in the college selection process; we advise our kids and families that during the downtime at the tournaments we compete in that they take time and visit neighboring schools---just driving around a campus can give the player and idea of what he likes or dislikes--just to give you an idea of how the young players mind works--a year or so ago we were driving onto a campus for a game and as we drove to the field the young player who was riding with me says to me "Hey coach! I cannot go here. The girls are too ugly." And we had just driven thru the entry gates--The more campuses the player sees the better his evaluation will be at the end

Just another aspect to consider

Select Travel Team Selection

Every HS player who is seeking to play at the college level wants and needs to be on a strong select/travel team in the summer and fall months.

Not only does the team need to be strong but it needs to be high profile. The team needs to play in events that are well attended by college and pro scouts. You want the competitive field in each event to be strong so they will attract scouts as well as your team attracting the scouts and coaches.

Do your research before you sign on.

You also want a team that is not run by a father or father(s) of any of the players, especially if their son plays your position. You want a team with coaches who will work for you with the college coaches and scouts. You want coaches that will willing ly fill out questionnaires and speak with the coaches for you.

The summer/fall team you play on can be key to your future success.

Check Them Out !!!

In this day and age all too many people seek information on the internet and do it without checking out the source(s) of the information.

Know who you are taking info from--know their background---know their experience--know their reputation---know that they are for real.

Not all info is valid !!!1

The Right Way

We are all aware thet college coaches in baseball as well as all the other college sports each year retire, move on or get fired at seasons end--some do it the right way while others do it in what I term the wrong way.This is currently exemplified by what the latest college football coaches are doing.

My son , while playing baseball at New Mexico State, went through a head coaching change but I am here to tell you that to this day I am still impressed by how the coach, Elliot Avent, handled it all. Coach Avent told the entire team at seasons end that he had a chance to return to his home state of North Carolina if he got the head coaching slot at NC State. Thus the entire team, as they headed home for the summer, knew they may have a new coach when they returned to school in the fall. As it turned out Coach Avent got the job but he called each and every player to let them know it was happening before it was was announced---at the same time he gave every kid his phone numbers in case they needed or wanted to talk to him during the transition. Coach showed that he was and is a class act. To this day, some 10 years later, Coach and I still speak and he always asks how my son is doing.

There needs to me more men in the business like Coach Avent

The Right Way To Do IT !!!!

Every year in the college baseball world we see head coaches move on, retire or get fired at seasons end. With what is happening in the college football circles I want to speak of an instance on the college baseball scene when my son was in college. It reflects the proper way to make the move.

CAMPS

Many ask about camps ---you need to know which ones will serve your purposes best

Let us see what we can do to help you decipher the differences;


01--- College Camp for Instruction---if you are looking for instruction these can be great.Just make sure you check the ages that are invited---if you are a HS student you do not want to be at a camp that is predominantly Little Leaguers,
For the HS players I think the position specific camps are the best. At these camps you with players in your age group and getting specific attention

02-- College camps are a means for the Head Coach to get his assistant coaches some extra funds and supplement their salaries. There is no harm in this , in my book. As long as you get out of the camp what you want, does it really matter

03-- Some players get invites to camps so that the school can get another look at the player who they are in the recruiting process with.This can be great for the player because in many cases this becomes an "unofficial visit" as well giving the recruit a chance to see the campus and its facilties

04-- What are these Camps/Clinics put on by organizations other than colleges ? In most cases these are events that circumvent the NCAA rules regarding showcases on college campuses.As per NCAA rules a showcase cannot run drills on a Division I college campus---they can only play games---all too many kids attend these events which are sometimes billed as "Showcase/Camps" only to find out they are not a true showcase---they are a clinic with coaches working on the field and sadly the coaches working the event are not recruiting guys from their school.


The bottom line, as always, is to do your homework before putting down your money. Know full well what you are getting for your time and money

'til next time !!1

TODAYS THOUGHTS

Today let us explain why we have this blog and why I think it is important for parents and HS players who are looking at college baseball and how to get there.

There are too many misconceptions (myths) involved in the process and I hope to eliminate all if not most of them.

Let us take them one by one:

01-- "if you have talent they will find you"--- I,personally, think this is hogwash. You may have all the talent in the world but if you are in a weak league you need to put that talent on a bigger and more visible stage. Hitting .500 is a very weak league may mean you hit only .300 in a tough league. The key in this whole process is expsoure.

02-- " You do not need showcases or a showcase travel team"---this too I believe is hogwash. You want to be where the scouts are and they are not at regular HS or Legion games. They may attend these level games at playoff time but not during the regular season---they will be at showcases or large tournament where the get more "bang for their buck" so to speak. At these events they can see hundreds of players all in one weekend at one venue. and you need do do your homework because all showcases are not created equal nor are showcase travel teams as well as "showcase" tournaments.

03-- " you need a recruiting service" ---if you attend the proper showcases and play with a high profile team you do not need a recruiting service. even with a service the coaches need to see you play and you can send them your information and schedule to make them aware of where and who your are.

04-- " all showcase travel teams are created equal"--DON'T let anyone sell you this bill of goods. ---this absolutely a non-truth--many teams do different things as do their coaches and many do not do anything to help their players in the recruiting process. You want a team where you see regular playing time in highly competitive events and your coach is in contact with the college coaches

05-- " your parents bothering the college coaches with flyers, stats sheets pictures etc will help you"---no it won't---coaches want to see the player play not read about him while they are the event--and obviously the parent(S) won't be bothering the coaches while the son is in action so they are taking the coaches attention away from another player or players. Think about that impression you are making.

That is just a few a the myths. as move along day to day we will cover more--if you have questions you want answered m post them here as a comment or email them to TRhit@msn.com

More Baseball

Today let us talk about why we are doing this blog.

Recruiting Status

Now is the time !!!! As a high school senior looking to play baseball in college going into the final semester of high school you should have already done this if you are not signed already:

01-- you should have applied for admission to the schools of your choice regardless of baseball

02-- you should have limited your choice of baseball schools to those that have shown interest in you

03-- you have not committed as yet so make sure you let the coaches who have shown interest know your schedule for the spring season.

04-- you still have time to boost your SAT/ACT scores---DO IT--take them again

Any questions please ask--make it happen